Above Klidonia and NW of the modern settlement of Agios Minas, on the top of a steep hill where the temple of Evangelistria is located, the remains of a Hellenistic fortified settlement are preserved. The hill is naturally protected as it is part of the Vikos gorge. On its south-western side are two successive fortified enclosures, a defensive tower, and the sole entrance gate to the acropolis. On its interior are the remains of a rectangular building of the Hellenistic period, as its construction in the pseudo-isodomic system suggests, which later on was used as a cistern. In addition, the remains of other subsequent buildings, probably dated to the late Byzantine years, were found. This subsequent phase is also found in repairs detected on the wall and is related to the adjacent remains of buildings located on the west of the acropolis, at the “Rouinikon” site, which -according to some scholars- is identified as the Byzantine city “Revnikon”. According to them, the Byzantine fortification of the acropolis dates back to the years of Thomas Prelubovic (1380 AD).

The acropolis lies in a strategically significant site, which oversees the southern part of the Konitsa plain and, at the same time, controls the ascent from the plain towards Elafotopo and the interior of the Zagori region.

To the modern visitor, the site settled on the gorge of Vikos offers “an endlessly fascinating feast of eyes in all seasons and in all games of light and shadow”.

Eleni Skalisti – Georgios Georgoulas